Alison Morrison murder: Trevor Gibbon jailed for 28 years

A man who murdered his neighbour in "a merciless act of vengeance" after a campaign of harassment has been jailed for 28 years.

Trevor Gibbon stabbed Alison Morrison 33 times before fleeing the scene in Harrow, north-west London.

She named him as she lay dying in the street in December.

Sentencing at the Old Bailey, Judge Timothy Pontius said the murder "robbed a close-knit family of a devoted and caring wife, mother, sister and aunt."

The judge, who described the killing as "brutal", added: "This was not a frenzied loss of control on the defendant's part but a merciless act of vengeance indubitably with the intent to kill Alison Morrison in the forefront of his mind."

He said victim impact statements made clear how devastating her death had been for her husband Cedric and their son.

Mr Morrison had told the court: "A bright light has been extinguished forever."

Gibbon, from Windsor Crescent, Harrow, denied murder but admitted the killing on the basis that he was "suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning".

The jury rejected his defence and he was convicted of murder.

The court heard that the day before the killing Gibbon, 48, admitted harassing the family and was given a restraining order.

He had armed himself with two knives and ambushed Mrs Morrison from behind as she made her way to work as a senior manager at Which? the jury was told.

As she lay dying in the street near her home, Mrs Morrison, 45, told residents who went to help her: "Trevor Gibbon did this to me."

Gibbon fled the scene in his car but was picked up in Lincolnshire.

The court heard the trouble dated back to 2011 when Mrs Morrison, her husband Cedric and their teenage son moved next door to Gibbon and his partner.

Gibbon complained about the noise from her son's skateboard before embarking upon a long campaign of harassment.

Mrs Morrison reported the harassment to the council and police and, in the days before she was killed, described in a written statement shown to the jury how "it got so bad" that she could not sleep properly and "felt it would never end".

Ch Supt Simon Ovens, who worked with Mrs Morrison when she volunteered with the local police, said: "Nothing can bring back Alison Morrison or make up for her loss, but I am pleased today that the man responsible for her death has been brought to justice.

"We all continue to miss Alison a great deal but her many friends and colleagues in the police and our partners will take solace from today's decision by the jury."